The present invention relates to engineered materials for cutting applications and in particular to engineered materials for use in medical applications.
In an effort to treat vascular diseases, a variety of minimally invasive, intravascular techniques have been developed. One technique, commonly used to treat vascular occlusions, is to utilize an abrasive burr that is routed within a vessel and rotated at high speed in order to ablate the occlusion. When plated with a relatively fine abrasive on the surface on the burr, the ablated particles are sufficiently small so that they are passed through the body without significant risk of downstream embolization.
The most common type of atherectomy burr comprises a metal bead that is plated with diamond particles. In general, such burrs can only be made in relatively simple shapes, such as ovoids and are relatively expensive to produce. Therefore, there is a need for a cost-effective method of making more complex shapes that might produce more efficient cutting surfaces.
Another problem with all current intravascular ablation techniques is the possibility of thermal damage caused by frictional heating at the treatment site. Such heating can damage healthy tissue at the site and may contribute to restenosis of a vessel. Therefore, there is a need for an ablation burr having improved thermal conductivity that will transfer heat away from a treatment site.
The present invention is an improved feedstock material from which abrasive cutting tools can be made. The material includes diamond particles, a binding material and a homogenizer that keeps the diamond particles and binding material mixed together. The combination of the diamond particles, binding material and homogenizer can be injection molded to create cutting devices of a variety of shapes and sizes. The proportions of the diamond particles and binding material can be adjusted in accordance with the desired application of the cutting tool.
The improved feedstock of the present invention can be used to manufacture industrial cutting tools as well as medical cutting tools. However, the feedstock is believed to be particularly advantageous in making medical cutting tools because of the high thermal conductivity of the diamond particles, which aids in the conduction of heat away from a cutting surface where the tool is used.